


She Had To Know

by stairway_haught



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Not Happy, True Love, gay pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:43:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29604030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stairway_haught/pseuds/stairway_haught
Summary: “Already broken in two, Jamie cried. She had no more tears left from the day’s events, but she cried all the same. There was nothing more she could do, Bly was safe and Dani was gone, and Jamie knew that she would do it all again”My take on the events which took place directly after Jamie finds Dani’s body in the lake.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie
Kudos: 15





	She Had To Know

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to address how Jamie knew that Dani would harmlessly walk the grounds of Bly after she died. 
> 
> This story isn’t a happy one so don’t read of you’re looking for fluff.
> 
> I’m trying to reignite my love for writing so criticism is very welcome. This is the first thing I’ve written properly in a while so it might not be great.
> 
> And just to clarify I do not own or have any affiliation to The Haunting of Bly Manor or it’s wonderful characters. But I feel that’s pretty obvious.

Exhaustion passed over the Gardner as she lay alone and motionless beside the lake. The lake that had taken Rebecca. The lake that had almost had its grasp on Flora. The lake which had finally claimed Dani. Dani. Jamie had swam, and screamed, and sobbed; a desperate plea for her lover to not meet her fate at the bottom of the lake which had pained so many. 

Yet here she was. Alone. The frantic shivering of her body being the only movement she could muster. In spite of crying so easily, the Gardner could no longer weep. A seven hour plane journey filled with dread and mourning, and a loosing battle to save her love; now lost forever. Jamie was exhausted. 

In her forty-three years she had never felt so empty, so hopeless. Not when her mother left, not in foster care, not in prison. Not even when she found Flora’s empty gaze peering at Rebecca’s lifeless body or when she held a grieving Owen mere metres from the well. The worst part was, she knew this day would come. No matter how much she pushed it to the back of her mind, saying “one day at a time” over and over again like a hopeless prayer. She knew this day would come. The day where the lake would claim its reward in return for Flora’s life and peace among the dead. 

Jamie wasn’t selfish, really she wasn’t. Deep down she knew that they’d both do it all again if they had to. Dani would invite Viola into herself and Jamie would love Dani the whole way and be loved by her in return. In a million other worlds they would do it again. But was it worth all the pain she was experiencing in this moment? Would Dani’s sacrifice truly make a difference?

Jamie had to know. So she stayed. Forty-three years of age, a threatening shiver consuming her body, her lungs tight and a ring burning into the skin of her third finger. And she waited. Gazing into the lake. Waiting for her lover, to see if they’d made a difference. 

Time stood still, or perhaps it was achingly passing by. Jamie couldn’t be sure, as the night sky fell over Bly Manor. No one could tell how many hours she had sat there. The taxi driver had long fled, leaving nothing but a small bag containing a passport, a wallet, and Dani’s coat by the entrance of the manor. Yet the Gardner lay still and waiting, eyes bloodshot and screaming from being awake and empty for so long. 

Then, as the dark of the night consumed the grounds of Bly, she rose from the lake. As a moonflower had once bloomed elsewhere on the grounds, Dani emerged from the waters of her fate. Walking lifelessly towards the manor. And Jamie’s heart broke all over again, but she had to know.

The Gardner found herself in the Au Pair’s path. Jamie had never seen Dani walk so slowly; perhaps she wasn’t Dani at all. What if Dani’s body was simply a vessel for Viola’s rage? What if they’d made no difference in the long run? She had to know. As the lady of the lake came face to face with the Gardner, her arm stretched out as it had many times, Jamie wasn’t afraid for herself. Jamie would happily greet death as an old friend in this moment, but if she died now at the hands of her lover. Would all of this pain been worth it? Save Flora. Free the dead from their purgatory. Kill Dani and now Jamie, only for Viola’s gravity well to return and restart the vicious cycle that plagued Bly Manor for centuries. 

But the hand didn’t grab Jamie’s throat. As the new lady of the lake approached the Gardner, her arm stretched out, she gently placed her hand over Jamie’s heart. Their eyes met. Jamie gazed painfully as she was met with an empty softness staring back at her; upon her lover’s beautiful, perfect, face. Just as Dani had refused to let Jamie join her in the lake, she also refused to let her die. Without breaking eye contact, the Gardener found her own palm lightly covering the hand that now lay upon her chest. For just a moment, they were one. 

Gently nudging Jamie out of her way, a hand remaining on her still-beating heart, the lady of the lake continued on her path. Jamie wanted to collapse and sob and scream, but still she needed to know. She needed to know if she was the exception, or if no one dying was now the rule. 

So with a heavy heart, broken and branded by the imprint of Dani’s touch, Jamie followed the Au Pair’s new path.

The two lovers, now separated by death, entered the manor together as they had thirteen years ago. Dani ascended the stairs, yet she didn’t move toward the forbidden wing. Her path was different from Viola’s and Jamie had to know. The Au Pair gently opened the doors to two rooms and gazed upon two beds which once held two children she loved so dearly. 

In this moment, Jamie knew. The lady in the lake was harmless and no one would else would meet their fate by her hand. 

Dani would never. 

As Jamie followed her love back towards the lake one last time, she noticed another difference in the path of Dani’s moments. The Au Pair stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look at the greenhouse. The greenhouse which, in their days at Bly, was Jamie’s life and the start of their love. Before resuming her journey, the lady of the lake found herself picking a flower from a nearby hedge. She held it closely to her chest and slowly found her way back to the bottom of the lake. 

Already broken in two, Jamie cried. She had no more tears left from the day’s events, but she cried all the same. There was nothing more she could do, Bly was safe and Dani was gone, and Jamie knew that she would do it all again.


End file.
